Bending brake



T. J. KELLEHER 2 132 569 BENDING BRAKE Filed March 22, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l ha /W: I 120mm? (fizz/2% Oc t. H, 1938. T. J. KELLEHER BENDING BRAK E Filed March 22, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fade 77257": Womaa (.fl ell/aezr 2o. panying drawings, in which:-

Patented Oct. 11, 1938 I 1 5" A S A ENT OFFICE; 1

, v 2,132,569 v *BENDING BRAKE Thomas ,J. Kelleher, Chicago, n1. Application March 22, 1937,v Serial No. 132,427 2 Claims. (01.153-5) My invention relates to bending brakes, and more particularly to the portions thereof immediately in engagement or contact with the work, and my main object is. to provide an installation of elements in the work-holding and. forming zones which permits the renewal or re-conditioning of these elements with facility afterthey have become worn or lost their alinement.

A further object of the invention is to provide simple means for disposing the work-holding and forming elements.

Another object of the invention is to attain a considerable saving in timeand labor for the servicing of the machine along the lines men tioned.

With the above objects in view, and any others which may suggest themselves from the .descrip-. tion to follow, a better understanding of the invention may be had by reference to the'accom- Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a typical bending brakei Fig. 2 is a cross-section on an enlarged scale, of that portion of the brake which immediately applies to the work.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the work-holding an'd forming elements improved in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 4 is a fragmental elevation, on an enlarged scale of a portion of the improved bending brake, broken awayat different points to disclose various parts;

Fig. 5 is a similar view, showing a modification of the work-holding elements;

Fig. 6 is a cross-section, similar to Fig. 3, of the modified working elements after accomplishing a bending operation; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing the work indicated in Fig. 6 before and after the said bending operation. a

Referring specifically to the drawings, it is seen that the standard bending brake has its top bending leaf at l 0, the upper jaw at l l, the edge bar of the upper jaw at l2, the lower bending leaf at l3, and the top edge bar for the same at M. It is apparent that both the jaw II and the bending leaf 13 are cut down slightly to seat the respective edge bars, so that the screws l5 and I6 securing the same may not shear from the pressure of the bending operation.

Fig. 1 shows the screws I6 to be in a longitudinal series, and it is understood that the screws l5 are also in such a series.

The strain of the bending operations over an extended period of time shows in the dulling,

denting, andjother deformation of the bar l2 in its beveled frontal edge. It is customary to remove this edge ban-replace it by a new one, and put the top bending leaf in a planing machine to trim the frontal edge of the edge bar in conformity with the angle of the jaw ll. This not only means the dismantling, of the brake and its absence from service for sometime, but it also makes the new installation of doubtful fitness or efficiency. Observation has shown that the strain on the edge bar I2 is suffered in places where the greatest stress'is imposed during the bending operation. It is therefore inevitable that :the holes in the edge bar for the screws l5 are deformed or elongated in one direction oranother. When the new edge bar is applied, it is difficult to make its holes aline with the directions which the screws have assumed from wear in the old holes. Also, the new bar may not alinewith the backing step for this reason, so that altogetherthe adjustment or adaptation of the new bar to the jaw becomes a formidable task in which the fitness or efliciencyv of the replacement is speculative.

Asimilar problem is presented by thetop edge bar IA of the lower bending leaf. This bar wears on its upper corner edge from pressure to bend the work, and a replacement meets the same conditions as above described. In fact, the work of.

replacing edge bars is made even more difficult by the fact that they are of high carbon steel and therefore difficultto alter or change.

It has been my intention to depart from the above conditions by providing replacements which are easily constructed and installed. Thus, referring to Fig. 3, it will be noted that the base l M of the top bending leaf receives a separate jaw I1 underneath, this jaw serving as a frontal continuation of the leaf to the usual pointed edge.

The rear portion of the jaw I1 is reduced and seats in a L-shaped clamp I8 which is secured in a long recess 10b in the'bottom face of the leaf base Illa by a series of bolts I9. It is understood that this joint protects the pressure of the jaw from shearing the bolts I9. The lower jaw 20 of the brake is in the present instance made and secured similarly to the other one as shown.

In the case of the lower leaf I3, I prefer to apply its edge bar [4 on the rear side. This construction has the advantage of presenting the upper corners of the carbon steel edge bar to the wear of the bending operations, where in the previous instance, wear would be sufiered by the rear top edge of the apron itself. By making the edge bar 14 removable, it is not necessary to dismantle the lower bending leaf to renew its rear top edge.

In my construction, the edge bar l4 rests in step [3a formed on the rear side of the lower bending leaf and is secured by a clamping bar 2| fastened by bolts 22.

It will be evident that it is easy to removethe jaws I! in case of wear by simply loosening the bolts l9, this also applying to the edge bar [4 by means of the bolts 22. The jaws and edge bar, by constituting the elements immediately engaging the work, can'thus be handled apart from the machine itself. They may be re-conditioned if it is feasible; or, if this is impractical or not advisable, a new set of elements may be installed as replacements without keeping the machine out of service any appreciable length of time.

In the replacing of the jaws l1, it is evident that no problem of wear or deformation at individual points is presented. Thesturdy clamp l8 and securing bolts l9 form a firm receptacle and fastening for the jaw, and there are therefore no difficulties in adjustment or the finding of illfitting places or conditions incompatible with the proper seating of the new jaw.

The facility in replacing the jaws and edge bars of the improved type makes it possible to quickly change the jaws whenever desired, and these may be formed as dies to impart prescribed formations to'the work when clamped or bent. With jaws of different die-formations available, it is an easy matter to change the jaws for the work as specified.

It will be apparent from the above description that I have provided a set of work engaging and forming elements for the bending brake which make for the saving of time and labor, and encourage the maintenance of these elements in the best possible condition for a high standard of efliciency.

While I have so far described the main embodiment of the invention, the same may be replaced where desired by the modified units shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Here it is seenthat the jaws IT and 20 are made in sections Ila and 20a of fractional length, these being shown spaced from one another. The bar I4 is similarly divisible into sections Ma. As before,the clamps I8 and 2| may secure any number of these sections in line, and then may be spaced to afford clearance for portions of one or more pieces of work which are not intended to be bent. Thus, the spaces between the sections afford room for the flanges or wings of angle bars, channels and the like. With the sectional jaws positioned as in Fig. 3, an angle bar 25 may be laid with the flange 25a extending downwardly and severed at the site where the bar is to be bent. A quarter-turn bend places the work in the position as indicated by dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 6, so as to appear as in Fig. 7.

It is thus apparent that by replacing the regular jaws with sectional ones, it is possible to insert one or more pieces of work with vertical flanges or portions in the brake, and to leave clearance for such flanges or bends while the work is being bent. The novel jaw installation is therefore of an interchangeable character and capable of handling a greater variety of work.

I claim: v

1. In a bending brake including at least one bending leaf, a removable jaw for said leaf, said jaw having a rearwardly extending shank lapping the forward edge of one surface of said leaf, an elongated clamp having a portion lapping substantially the entire rear edge of said jaw to hold the same against said leaf, said leaf having an elongated recess therein parallel to said rear edge of said jaw, an elongated boss on said clamp fitting in said recess, and means extending through the floor of said recess and removably securingsaid boss in said recess whereby to clamp said jaw to said leaf and positively lock the same and said clamp against rearward departure.

2.In a bending brake including at least'one bending leaf, a removable jaw for said leaf, said jaw having a rearwardly extending shank lapping the forward edge of one surface of said leaf, an elongated clamp'having a portion lapping substantially the entire rear edge of said jaw to hold the same against said leaf, said leaf having an elongated recess therein parallel to said rear edge of said jaw, an elongated boss on said clamp fitting in said recess, said boss and recess extending substantially the entire length of said jaw, said boss and recess having abutting front and rear faces substantially perpendicular to the plane of said surface of said leaf, and means extending through the floor of said'recess and detachably securing said boss in said recess, whereby to clamp said jaw to said leaf and positively lock the same and said clamp against rearward and forward departure.

THOMAS J. KELLEHER. 

